Uplink multi-power amplifier/antenna operation and channel prioritization

ABSTRACT

Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques for controlling transmission power and prioritizing transmission carriers. A method of power distribution for different physical layer channels over one or more carriers in case of power limited user equipment (UE) is proposed. Operation modes of the UE with single and multiple power amplifiers/antennas can be supported.

CLAIM PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119

The present Application for Patent claims benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/253,796, entitled, “Uplink multi-poweramplifier/antenna operation and channel prioritization”, filed Oct. 21,2009, and assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wirelesscommunications and, more particularly, to a method for controllingtransmit power and prioritizing transmission carriers.

2. Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, data, and so on. Thesesystems may be multiple-access systems capable of supportingcommunication with multiple users by sharing the available systemresources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of suchmultiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, FrequencyDivision Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, 3^(rd) Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Long Term EvolutionAdvanced (LTE-A) systems, and Orthogonal Frequency Division MultipleAccess (OFDMA) systems.

Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system cansimultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals.Each terminal communicates with one or more base stations viatransmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (ordownlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to theterminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communicationlink from the terminals to the base stations. This communication linkmay be established via a single-input single-output, multiple-inputsingle-output or a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system.

A MIMO system employs multiple (N_(T)) transmit antennas and multiple(N_(R)) receive antennas for data transmission. A MIMO channel formed bythe N_(T) transmit and N_(R) receive antennas may be decomposed intoN_(S) independent channels, which are also referred to as spatialchannels, where N_(S)≦min{N_(T), N_(R)}. Each of the N_(S) independentchannels corresponds to a dimension. The MIMO system can provideimproved performance (e.g., higher throughput and/or greaterreliability) if the additional dimensionalities created by the multipletransmit and receive antennas are utilized.

A MIMO system supports a time division duplex (TDD) and frequencydivision duplex (FDD) systems. In a TDD system, the forward and reverselink transmissions are on the same frequency region so that thereciprocity principle allows the estimation of the forward link channelfrom the reverse link channel. This enables the access point to extracttransmit beamforming gain on the forward link when multiple antennas areavailable at the access point.

In addition, terminals can communicate with base stations over one ormore frequency carriers. As described, channels can be logically definedover the one or more carriers for transmitting certain types of data,such as data channels, which can be shared among terminals, controlchannels, and/or the like. Control data sent over the control channelscan relate to quality of communication over one or more data channels,including error correction data (such as hybrid automatic repeat/request(HARQ)), channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators(PMI), rank indicators (RI), and/or the like. HARQ or other errorcorrection data, for example, can include transmitting anacknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) of successfullyreceiving communications over a data channel. For example, where NACK isreceived for a communication, the transmitter can retransmit all or aportion of the communication to ensure successful receipt.

SUMMARY

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method for wirelesscommunications. The method generally includes determining aprioritization of a collection of carriers allocated for transmittingwireless signals, adjusting transmission power for a plurality ofcarriers in the collection of carriers according to the prioritization,and transmitting signals over one or more of the carriers using one ormore antennas according to the transmission power.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus forwireless communications. The apparatus generally includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, whereinthe at least one processor is configured to determine a prioritizationof a collection of carriers allocated for transmitting wireless signals,adjust transmission power for a plurality of carriers in the collectionof carriers according to the prioritization, and transmit signals overone or more of the carriers using one or more antennas according to thetransmission power.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus forwireless communications. The apparatus generally includes means fordetermining a prioritization of a collection of carriers allocated fortransmitting wireless signals, means for adjusting transmission powerfor a plurality of carriers in the collection of carriers according tothe prioritization, and means for transmitting signals over one or moreof the carriers using one or more antennas according to the transmissionpower.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a computer programproduct. The computer program product generally includes acomputer-readable medium comprising code for determining aprioritization of a collection of carriers allocated for transmittingwireless signals, adjusting transmission power for a plurality ofcarriers in the collection of carriers according to the prioritization,and transmitting signals over one or more of the carriers using one ormore antennas according to the transmission power.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method for wirelesscommunications. The method generally includes determining aprioritization of one or more carriers allocated for transmittingsignals in a wireless network, and transmitting the prioritization toone or more apparatuses that transmit signals over the one or morecarriers.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus forwireless communications. The apparatus generally includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, whereinthe at least one processor is configured to determine a prioritizationof one or more carriers allocated for transmitting signals in a wirelessnetwork, and transmit the prioritization to one or more apparatuses thattransmit signals over the one or more carriers.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus forwireless communications. The apparatus generally includes means fordetermining a prioritization of one or more carriers allocated fortransmitting signals in a wireless network, and means for transmittingthe prioritization to one or more apparatuses that transmit signals overthe one or more carriers.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a computer programproduct. The computer program product generally includes acomputer-readable medium comprising code for determining aprioritization of one or more carriers allocated for transmittingsignals in a wireless network, and transmitting the prioritization toone or more apparatuses that transmit signals over the one or morecarriers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description,briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some ofwhich are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted,however, that the appended drawings illustrate only certain typicalaspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to be consideredlimiting of its scope, for the description may admit to other equallyeffective aspects.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example multiple access wireless communicationsystem in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an access point and a userterminal in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless device inaccordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an example system that facilitatescarrier prioritization and power control in accordance with certainaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram conceptually illustrating exampleblocks that may be performed at user equipment (UE) in accordance withcertain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram conceptually illustrating exampleblocks that may be performed at a network device in accordance withcertain aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may,however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construedas limited to any specific structure or function presented throughoutthis disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on theteachings herein one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scopeof the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosuredisclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined withany other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may beimplemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspectsset forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intendedto cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. Itshould be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed hereinmay be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous overother aspects.

Although particular aspects are described herein, many variations andpermutations of these aspects fall within the scope of the disclosure.Although some benefits and advantages of the preferred aspects arementioned, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limited toparticular benefits, uses, or objectives. Rather, aspects of thedisclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to different wirelesstechnologies, system configurations, networks, and transmissionprotocols, some of which are illustrated by way of example in thefigures and in the following description of the preferred aspects. Thedetailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of thedisclosure rather than limiting, the scope of the disclosure beingdefined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

An Example Wireless Communication System

The techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunication networks such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, FrequencyDivision Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA)networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, etc. The terms“networks” and “systems” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA networkmay implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial RadioAccess (UTRA), CDMA2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) andLow Chip Rate (LCR). CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856standards. A TDMA network may implement a radio technology such asGlobal System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network mayimplement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11,IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM®, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM arepart of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). Long TermEvolution (LTE) and Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) are upcomingreleases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS, LTE and LTE-Aare described in documents from an organization named “3rd GenerationPartnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000 is described in documents from anorganization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2).CDMA2000 is described in documents from an organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). These various radiotechnologies and standards are known in the art. For clarity, certainaspects of the techniques are described below for LTE-A, and LTE-Aterminology is used in much of the description below.

Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) is atransmission technique that utilizes single carrier modulation at atransmitter side and frequency domain equalization at a receiver side.The SC-FDMA has similar performance and essentially the same overallcomplexity as those of OFDMA system. However, SC-FDMA signal has lowerpeak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) because of its inherent singlecarrier structure. The SC-FDMA has drawn great attention, especially inthe uplink communications where lower PAPR greatly benefits the mobileterminal in terms of transmit power efficiency. It is currently aworking assumption for uplink multiple access scheme in the 3GPP LTE,LTE-A, and the Evolved UTRA.

An access point (“AP”) may comprise, be implemented as, or known asNodeB, Radio Network Controller (“RNC”), eNodeB (“eNB”), Base StationController (“BSC”), Base Transceiver Station (“BTS”), Base Station(“BS”), Transceiver Function (“TF”), Radio Router, Radio Transceiver,Basic Service Set (“BSS”), Extended Service Set (“ESS”), Radio BaseStation (“RBS”), or some other terminology.

An access terminal (“AT”) may comprise, be implemented as, or known asan access terminal, a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobilestation, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, a useragent, a user device, user equipment (“UE”), a user station, or someother terminology. In some implementations an access terminal maycomprise a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a SessionInitiation Protocol (“SIP”) phone, a wireless local loop (“WLL”)station, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a handheld device havingwireless connection capability, a Station (“STA”), or some othersuitable processing device connected to a wireless modem. Accordingly,one or more aspects taught herein may be incorporated into a phone(e.g., a cellular phone or smart phone), a computer (e.g., a laptop), aportable communication device, a portable computing device (e.g., apersonal data assistant), an entertainment device (e.g., a music orvideo device, or a satellite radio), a global positioning system device,or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via awireless or wired medium. In some aspects the node is a wireless node.Such wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to anetwork (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellularnetwork) via a wired or wireless communication link.

Referring to FIG. 1, a multiple access wireless communication systemaccording to one aspect is illustrated. An access point 100 (AP) mayinclude multiple antenna groups, one group including antennas 104 and106, another group including antennas 108 and 110, and an additionalgroup including antennas 112 and 114. In FIG. 1, only two antennas areshown for each antenna group, however, more or fewer antennas may beutilized for each antenna group. Access terminal 116 (AT) may be incommunication with antennas 112 and 114, where antennas 112 and 114transmit information to access terminal 116 over forward link 120 andreceive information from access terminal 116 over reverse link 118.Access terminal 122 may be in communication with antennas 106 and 108,where antennas 106 and 108 transmit information to access terminal 122over forward link 126 and receive information from access terminal 122over reverse link 124. In a FDD system, communication links 118, 120,124 and 126 may use different frequency for communication. For example,forward link 120 may use a different frequency then that used by reverselink 118.

Each group of antennas and/or the area in which they are designed tocommunicate is often referred to as a sector of the access point. In oneaspect of the present disclosure each antenna group may be designed tocommunicate to access terminals in a sector of the areas covered byaccess point 100.

In communication over forward links 120 and 126, the transmittingantennas of access point 100 may utilize beamforming in order to improvethe signal-to-noise ratio of forward links for the different accessterminals 116 and 124. Also, an access point using beamforming totransmit to access terminals scattered randomly through its coveragecauses less interference to access terminals in neighboring cells thanan access point transmitting through a single antenna to all its accessterminals.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an aspect of a transmitter system210 (also known as the access point) and a receiver system 250 (alsoknown as the access terminal) in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)system 200. At the transmitter system 210, traffic data for a number ofdata streams is provided from a data source 212 to a transmit (TX) dataprocessor 214.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, each data stream may betransmitted over a respective transmit antenna. TX data processor 214formats, codes, and interleaves the traffic data for each data streambased on a particular coding scheme selected for that data stream toprovide coded data.

The coded data for each data stream may be multiplexed with pilot datausing OFDM techniques. The pilot data is typically a known data patternthat is processed in a known manner and may be used at the receiversystem to estimate the channel response. The multiplexed pilot and codeddata for each data stream is then modulated (i.e., symbol mapped) basedon a particular modulation scheme (e.g., BPSK, QSPK, M-PSK, or M-QAM)selected for that data stream to provide modulation symbols. The datarate, coding, and modulation for each data stream may be determined byinstructions performed by processor 230.

The modulation symbols for all data streams are then provided to a TXMIMO processor 220, which may further process the modulation symbols(e.g., for OFDM). TX MIMO processor 220 then provides N_(T) modulationsymbol streams to N_(T) transmitters (TMTR) 222 a through 222 t. Incertain aspects of the present disclosure, TX MIMO processor 220 appliesbeamforming weights to the symbols of the data streams and to theantenna from which the symbol is being transmitted.

Each transmitter 222 receives and processes a respective symbol streamto provide one or more analog signals, and further conditions (e.g.,amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the analog signals to provide amodulated signal suitable for transmission over the MIMO channel. N_(T)modulated signals from transmitters 222 a through 222 t are thentransmitted from N_(T) antennas 224 a through 224 t, respectively.

At receiver system 250, the transmitted modulated signals may bereceived by N_(R) antennas 252 a through 252 r and the received signalfrom each antenna 252 may be provided to a respective receiver (RCVR)254 a through 254 r. Each receiver 254 may condition (e.g., filters,amplifies, and downconverts) a respective received signal, digitize theconditioned signal to provide samples, and further process the samplesto provide a corresponding “received” symbol stream.

An RX data processor 260 then receives and processes the N_(R) receivedsymbol streams from N_(R) receivers 254 based on a particular receiverprocessing technique to provide N_(T) “detected” symbol streams. The RXdata processor 260 then demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes eachdetected symbol stream to recover the traffic data for the data stream.The processing by RX data processor 260 may be complementary to thatperformed by TX MIMO processor 220 and TX data processor 214 attransmitter system 210.

A processor 270 periodically determines which pre-coding matrix to use.Processor 270 formulates a reverse link message comprising a matrixindex portion and a rank value portion. The reverse link message maycomprise various types of information regarding the communication linkand/or the received data stream. The reverse link message is thenprocessed by a TX data processor 238, which also receives traffic datafor a number of data streams from a data source 236, modulated by amodulator 280, conditioned by transmitters 254 a through 254 r, andtransmitted back to transmitter system 210.

At transmitter system 210, the modulated signals from receiver system250 are received by antennas 224, conditioned by receivers 222,demodulated by a demodulator 240, and processed by a RX data processor242 to extract the reserve link message transmitted by the receiversystem 250. Processor 230 then determines which pre-coding matrix to usefor determining the beamforming weights, and then processes theextracted message.

FIG. 3 illustrates various components that may be utilized in a wirelessdevice 302 that may be employed within the wireless communication systemfrom FIG. 1. The wireless device 302 is an example of a device that maybe configured to implement the various methods described herein. Thewireless device 302 may be an access point 100 from FIG. 1 or any ofaccess terminals 116, 122.

The wireless device 302 may include a processor 304 which controlsoperation of the wireless device 302. The processor 304 may also bereferred to as a central processing unit (CPU). Memory 306, which mayinclude both read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM),provides instructions and data to the processor 304. A portion of thememory 306 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).The processor 304 typically performs logical and arithmetic operationsbased on program instructions stored within the memory 306. Theinstructions in the memory 306 may be executable to implement themethods described herein.

The wireless device 302 may also include a housing 308 that may includea transmitter 310 and a receiver 312 to allow transmission and receptionof data between the wireless device 302 and a remote location. Thetransmitter 310 and receiver 312 may be combined into a transceiver 314.A single or a plurality of transmit antennas 316 may be attached to thehousing 308 and electrically coupled to the transceiver 314. Thewireless device 302 may also include (not shown) multiple transmitters,multiple receivers, and multiple transceivers.

The wireless device 302 may also include a signal detector 318 that maybe used in an effort to detect and quantify the level of signalsreceived by the transceiver 314. The signal detector 318 may detect suchsignals as total energy, energy per subcarrier per symbol, powerspectral density and other signals. The wireless device 302 may alsoinclude a digital signal processor (DSP) 320 for use in processingsignals.

The various components of the wireless device 302 may be coupledtogether by a bus system 322, which may include a power bus, a controlsignal bus, and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, logical wireless communicationchannels may be classified into control channels and traffic channels.Logical control channels may comprise a Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH)which is a downlink (DL) channel for broadcasting system controlinformation. A Paging Control Channel (PCCH) is a DL logical controlchannel that transfers paging information. A Multicast Control Channel(MCCH) is a point-to-multipoint DL logical control channel used fortransmitting Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (MBMS)scheduling and control information for one or several Multicast TrafficChannels (MTCHs). Generally, after establishing Radio Resource Control(RRC) connection, the MCCH may be only used by user terminals thatreceive MBMS. A Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH) is a point-to-pointbi-directional logical control channel that transmits dedicated controlinformation and it is used by user terminals having an RRC connection.Logical traffic channels may comprise a Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH)which is a point-to-point bi-directional channel dedicated to one userterminal for transferring user information. Furthermore, logical trafficchannels may comprise a Multicast Traffic Channel (MTCH), which is apoint-to-multipoint DL channel for transmitting traffic data.

Transport channels may be classified into DL and UL channels. DLtransport channels may comprise a Broadcast Channel (BCH), a DownlinkShared Data Channel (DL-SDCH) and a Paging Channel (PCH). The PCH may beutilized for supporting power saving at the user terminal (i.e.,Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle may be indicated to the userterminal by the network), broadcasted over entire cell and mapped tophysical layer (PHY) resources which can be used for othercontrol/traffic channels. The UL transport channels may comprise aRandom Access Channel (RACH), a Request Channel (REQCH), an UplinkShared Data Channel (UL-SDCH) and a plurality of PHY channels.

The PHY channels may comprise a set of DL channels and UL channels. TheDL PHY channels may comprise: Common Pilot Channel (CPICH),Synchronization Channel (SCH), Common Control Channel (CCCH), Shared DLControl Channel (SDCCH), Multicast Control Channel (MCCH), Shared ULAssignment Channel (SUACH), Acknowledgement Channel (ACKCH), DL PhysicalShared Data Channel (DL-PSDCH), UL Power Control Channel (UPCCH), PagingIndicator Channel (PICH), and Load Indicator Channel (LICH). The UL PHYChannels may comprise: Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), ChannelQuality Indicator Channel (CQICH), Acknowledgement Channel (ACKCH),Antenna Subset Indicator Channel (ASICH), Shared Request Channel(SREQCH), UL Physical Shared Data Channel (UL-PSDCH), and BroadbandPilot Channel (BPICH).

In an aspect, a channel structure is provided that preserves low PAPR(at any given time, the channel is contiguous or uniformly spaced infrequency) properties of a single carrier waveform.

Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) uplink (UL) design may allowexceptions to preservation of the single carrier property of ULtransmissions. Examples of UL transmissions may include transmissionsover the reverse links 118 and 124 in FIG. 1, transmissions from theaccess terminal 250 to the system 210 in FIG. 2, and/or transmissionsfrom the wireless device 302 in FIG. 3 to an associated base station. InLTE Release-8 (Rel-8), where an UL waveform may be strictly SingleCarrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) based, concurrentphysical layer (PHY) channels may be dropped in order to preserve thesingle carrier (SC) property of the UL transmission. In LTE-A, PHYchannels may not be dropped unless a maximum transmit power is reached.The channel dropping and/or power scaling may be performed only if acomposite transmit power exceeds the maximum available transmit power.

Depending on an operational regime of user equipment (UE), it may bedesirable to preserve the SC property on each of the used poweramplifiers (PAs) and/or antennas that may be associated with the PAs ofthe UE. A subset of the PAs may be utilized up to their maximum transmitpower, while the rest of the PAs may be turned off. The same informationmay be transmitted on all PAs/antennas. In one aspect of the presentdisclosure, the PA's transmit power may be filled-up with more than onechannel, if this is required and possible. In this case, the SC propertyof UL transmissions may be broken. In an aspect, the PA's transmit powermay be filled-up according to channel prioritization.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure support a method of powerdistribution for Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and PhysicalUplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) over multiple carriers in case of a powerlimited UE. Operation modes of the UE with single and multiplePAs/antennas may be supported.

Power Control and Channel Prioritization

According to aspects described herein, wireless devices may prioritizecarriers for transmission and control power over the carriers. Forexample, high priority data may be transmitted over high prioritycarriers at an increased power. Lower priority data, however, may betransmitted at a lower power relying, for example, on hybrid automaticrepeat/request (HARQ) or on other error correction techniques to ensureeffective transmission.

In one aspect, carrier priorities may be defined by a wireless networkspecification. In another aspect, a UE may select high priority carriersamong scheduled UL carriers to transmit high priority data. Therefore,in a power limited case, the UE may prioritize one carrier (or possiblymore carriers) and transmit on it high priority data that do nottolerate delay, while the rest may rely on HARQ.

This approach may not depart from the Rel-8 concept. For example, theRel-8 scheduling may only specify the assigned resources, which may notbe specific to different traffic flows that the UE may have. Therefore,although the scheduler may give an assignment considering specificnumber of bits taken from specific flows on specific carriers, the UEmay utilize the given assignment differently. This may be true even ifthe same algorithm is applied at the UE and the scheduler side, due topossible differences in the buffer status. In addition, interpretationhow to use the assigned resources across flows may be different.

Hence, if the UE is power limited obtaining assignments on severalcarriers and it has high priority data scheduled for transmission, thenthe UE may transmit these data with as much power as it can (or needs)on one of the assignments, and may starve other carrier transmissions.Whichever carrier (for high priority data transmission) it turns out tobe, that carrier may effectively become ‘high priority’ carrier. Inaddition, as described, the carrier priority may be defined in a networkspecification or otherwise controlled by the wireless network or by oneor more devices providing wireless network access to the UE (e.g., basedon previous use, capacity, available resources, and so on). For example,transmission of Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) over the ‘highpriority’ carrier may be of a higher priority than transmission of PUSCHover one or more other carriers.

According to an aspect, the UE may comprise multiple power amplifiersand antennas associated with the power amplifiers. In this case, variouspower amplification and channel prioritization schemes may be utilizedto effectively transmit data in the wireless network.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system that facilitates carrierprioritization and power control in wireless networks. A wireless device402 is provided, which may be a mobile device, UE, access terminal, orany power limited device that communicates in a wireless network. Anetwork device 404 is also illustrated, which may communicate with thewireless device 402. The network device 404 may additionally be anaccess point, upstream network component, or any device thatcommunicates with the wireless device 402.

The wireless device 402 may comprise a carrier prioritizing component406 that may rank one or more carriers for transmitting high prioritytraffic, low priority traffic, and/or varying priority levels oftraffic, a power adjusting component 408 that may modify transmissionpower of one or more antennas for transmitting data over the one or morecarriers based on their respective priority levels, and a transmittingcomponent 410 that may transmit data over the carriers using multipleantennas at the appropriate power. As described, the carriers may relateto logically defined channels, such as data or control channels—the typeof data transmitted over the channels may be utilized in determiningpriority for the related carriers. The network device 404 may optionallycomprise a prioritization notifying component that may develop orreceive carrier prioritization and transmit the prioritization to thewireless device 402.

In an aspect, the wireless device 402 may communicate with the networkdevice 404 directly or through one or more additional components. Thewireless device 402 may transmit signals to the network device 404 oranother device, for example, over one or more frequency carriers.Channels may be logically defined over collections of carriers, such asphysical uplink data channels (which may be shared among wirelessdevices), uplink control channels, and so on. Based on the channeland/or the data to transmit over the channel, the carrier prioritizingcomponent 406 may rank carriers related to the channels and/or designatethe carriers as high, low, or other intermediary priorities.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the carrier prioritizingcomponent 406 may maintain prioritization for a collection of carriersbased on previous priorities, available resources, sensitivity of datatransmitted over the channels, and/or the like. The power adjustingcomponent 408 may select one or more transmit powers for one or moresignals over the collection of carriers based on the prioritization, andthe transmitting component 410 may transmit the signals over thecarriers using one or more antennas at the selected powers.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the prioritizationnotifying component 412 may provide the carrier prioritizing component406 with a network specified carrier prioritization, as described. It isto be appreciated that the prioritization scheme may be specified asrelating to at least two types of data to be transmitted over the one ormore antennas, for example.

For certain aspects of the present disclosure, the carrier prioritizingcomponent 406 and power adjusting component 408 may prioritize carriersand distribute power for PUCCH and PUSCH over multiple carriers in caseof the power limited wireless device 402 according to the followingprocedure.

PUCCH may be first accommodated across carriers. This may be performedaccording to a priority of each carrier, if the carrier priorities aredefined. In an aspect, scaling factors may be defined to determine afraction of the power used for each carrier. Uniform power distributionacross carriers may represent the special case where the scalingcoefficients are the same.

If no explicit carrier priorities are defined, following PUCCHcomponents may be prioritized for transmission in this particular order:multicarrier Acknowledgement/Negative Acknowledgement (ACK/NACK)feedback, single carrier ACK/NACK (where MIMO ACK/NACK has a higherpriority than Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) ACK/NACK), ACK/NACKmultiplexed with CQI/PMI/RI, Scheduling Request (SR), Rank Indicator(RI), CQI/PMI (where wideband CQI/PMI has a higher priority thansub-band CQI/PMI), and Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).

If explicit carrier priorities are defined, ACK/NACK feedback of allcarriers may be accommodated according to the carrier priority, butbefore any other feedback type, regardless of the carrier priority. Forexample, ACK/NACK of a carrier with a lower priority may have precedenceover a CQI feedback of another carrier with a higher priority than theACK/NACK carrier. This may apply for the ACK/NACK transmission only. Forother channels, the carrier priority may have precedence.

PUSCH may be accommodated across carriers following the PUCCHaccommodation. In an aspect, uniform power scaling may be sufficient forthe PUSCH accommodation. Power scaling based on the priority may bedesirable if there are ‘high priority’ carriers that carry delaysensitive traffic (Quality of Service (QoS) sensitive scheduling acrosscarriers). In one aspect of the present disclosure, high prioritycarriers may be by designation high priority, and, therefore, QoSsensitive data may be put on these carriers. In another aspect, thecarriers with QoS sensitive data may represent just regular carriers,which may become high priority carriers if the QoS sensitive data areput on them, in case of UE power limitation.

If all carriers are of the same priority, the power allocated for datatransmission may be scaled uniformly across carriers. If there iscontrol information multiplexed together with data on PUSCH,transmitting control information together with data on PUSCH may beprioritized over transmitting pure data on PUSCH. Further, PUSCH may bedropped and PUCCH may be transmitted only if required due to a transmitpower constraint. In addition, Radio Resource Control (RRC) and MediaAccess Control (MAC) signaling (e.g., power headroom report, measurementreports, etc) transmitted on PUSCH may have priority over at least oneof: transmission of regular data on PUSCH over one or more othercarriers, transmission of the regular data on PUSCH along with uplinkcontrol information (UCI), or transmission of PUCCH.

Operation with Single and Multiple Power Amplifiers

In the case of a single power amplifier (PA) implementation at UE andtransmission over one or more carriers, all the aforementioned rules fortransmit power control and channel prioritization may be directlyapplied.

When the power adjusting component 408 controls power for multiple PAs(e.g., related to multiple antennas), different types of data may besimultaneously transmitted over multiple carriers. For example, ACK maybe transmitted with SRS, CQI, and/or the like using one antenna for ACKand the other for other types of data, using both antennas for bothtypes of data, and so on. Generally, in another example, control datamay be transmitted over one antenna at one power with user plane datatransmitted over another antenna at another power. Various transmittingcombinations are possible, and a subset of examples is presented in thedisclosure.

Depending on the UE operation regime, it may be desirable to preservesingle carrier (SC) property of uplink (UL) transmission on each of theused PAs/antennas. A subset of the PAs may be utilized up to theirmaximum available transmit power, and the rest of the PAs may be turnedoff. The same information may be transmitted on all PAs/antennas inorder to achieve transmit diversity. In addition, beamforming and cyclicdelay diversity (CDD) may be applied. The PA's transmit power may befilled-up with more than one channel according to a channelprioritization, as it may be required and possible. However, this maybreak the SC property of the UL transmission.

Several iterations may be required to find a preferred transmissioncombination between PHY channels and available PAs/antennas. Certainaspects of the present disclosure support implementation of twoPAs/antennas at the UE.

In an aspect, ACK or ACK/SR may be transmitted along with SRS, or onlySR may be transmitted along with SRS. If the shortened format is allowed(i.e., Simultaneous-AN-and-SRS flag is set to TRUE by higher layers),then ACK or ACK/SR or SR, and SRS may be transmitted on bothantennas/PAs with shortened format. The shortened format 1 may beutilized for transmitting SR, and the shortened format 1 a/ 1 b may beused for ACK. The SRS may be transmitted on one or both antennas byconfiguration. This approach may preserve the SC property of the ULtransmission.

On the other hand, if the shortened format is not allowed (i.e.,Simultaneous-AN-and-SRS is set to FALSE by higher layers), then ACK orACK/SR or SR may be transmitted with the regular format on bothantennas/PAs. SRS may be transmitted on one or both antennas/PAs, ifthere is enough transmit power. Otherwise, the SRS may be dropped, andregular format ACK may be transmitted. The regular format 1 may be usedfor transmitting SR, and the format 1 a/ 1 b may be used for ACK. TheSRS may be transmitted on one or both antennas by configuration. Itshould be noted that transmitting ACK using the regular format alongwith SRS may break the SC property of the UL transmission.

In an aspect, ACK or ACK/SR may be transmitted along with CQI. ACK orACK/SR and CQI may be transmitted on separate resources on bothantennas/PAs. The regular format 1 a/ 1 b may be used for transmittingACK, and the regular format 2 may be used for CQI. This may break the SCproperty of the UL transmission.

Alternatively, ACK or ACK/SR and CQI may be transmitted on separatePA/antenna. The regular format 1 a/ 1 b may be used for transmitting ACKon one PA/antenna and the regular format 2 may be used for transmittingCQI on the other PA/antenna. ACK may be additionally transmitted on thePA carrying CQI, if Simultaneous-AN-and-CQI is set to TRUE by higherlayers. The regular format 2 a/ 2 b may be used for CQI/ACK. This maypreserve the SC property of the UL transmission.

In an aspect, SR may be transmitted along with CQI. SR and CQI may betransmitted on separate resources on both PAs/antennas. The regularformat 1 may be used for transmitting SR, and the regular format 2 maybe used for CQI. This may break the SC property of the UL transmission.Alternatively, SR and CQI may be transmitted on separate antennas/PAs.The regular format 1 may be used for SR transmitted on one PA/antenna,and the regular format 2 may be used for CQI transmitted on the otherPA/antenna. This approach may preserve the SC property of the ULtransmission.

In an aspect, SR/SRS may be transmitted along with CQI. If the shortenedformat for SR is allowed, then SR/SRS and CQI may be transmitted onseparate resources on both antennas/PAs. The shortened format 1 may beused for both SR and SRS, and the shortened format 2 may be used forCQI. This may break the SC property of the UL transmission.

If the shortened format for SR is not allowed, then SR/SRS and CQI maybe transmitted on separate antenna/PA. The regular format 1 may be usedfor transmitting SR on one PA/antenna, and the regular format 2 may beused for transmitting CQI on the other PA/antenna. SRS may betransmitted on one or both antennas by configuration. This may break theSC property of the UL transmission. In order to preserve the SCproperty, the SRS may be dropped if there is not enough transmit power.

In an aspect, SRS may be transmitted along with CQI. CQI may betransmitted on both antennas/PAs, and SRS may be transmitted on one orboth antennas/PAs (by SRS configuration), if transmit power limitationallows. The regular format 2 may be used for CQI transmission along withSRS. This may break the SC property of the UL transmission. One or bothSRSs may be dropped, if there is not enough transmit power, while the SCproperty may be preserved.

Alternatively, SRS may be transmitted on one antenna/PA, and CQI may betransmitted on the other antenna/PA. The format 2 may be used for CQItransmission on one PA/antenna and for SRS transmission on the otherPA/antenna. A PA/antenna carrying SRS may be determined by the antennatransmission schedule for SRS. If SRS is configured on both antennas andif there is a power available on the antenna/PA transmitting CQI, SRSmay be transmitted concurrently with CQI. Otherwise, SRS may be dropped.It should be noted that transmitting CQI concurrently with SRS may breakthe SC property of the UL transmission.

In an aspect, ACK or ACK/SR may be transmitted along with SRS and alongwith CQI. If the shortened format is allowed (i.e.,Simultaneous-AN-and-SRS is set to TRUE by higher layers), then ACK orACK/SR, SRS and CQI may be transmitted on separate resources on bothantennas/PAs. The shortened format 1 a/ 1 b may be used for ACKtransmission, and the shortened format 2 or 2 a/ 2 b may be used for CQItransmission, if Simultaneous-AN-and-CQI is set to TRUE by higherlayers. Utilizing the shortened format 1 a/ 1 b and transmittingconcurrently SRS and CQI may break the SC property of the ULtransmission. If there is not enough transmit power, SRS and CQI may bedropped/power-scaled sequentially.

In another aspect, if the shortened format is allowed, ACK or ACK/SR andSRS may be transmitted on one antenna/PA, and CQI may be transmitted onseparate antenna/PA. The shortened format 1 a/ 1 b may be used fortransmitting ACK and SRS on one antenna/PA, and the shortened format 2may be used for transmitting CQI on the other antenna/PA. This maypreserve the SC property of the UL transmission.

In addition, ACK may be transmitted on the antenna/PA carrying CQI, ifSimultaneous-AN-and-CQI is set to TRUE by higher layers. The format 2 a/2 b may be used for CQI/ACK transmission. A PA/antenna carrying SRS maybe determined by the antenna transmission schedule for SRS. If SRS isconfigured on both antennas and if there is a power available on theantenna/PA with CQI, then SRS may be transmitted concurrently with CQI.Otherwise, SRS may be dropped. It should be noted that the concurrenttransmission of CQI and SRS may break the SC property of the ULtransmission.

If the shortened format is not allowed (i.e., Simultaneous-AN-and-SRS isset to FALSE by higher layers), then ACK or ACK/SR, SRS and CQI may betransmitted on separate resources on both antennas/PAs. The regularformat 1 a/ 1 b may be used for ACK transmission, and the regular format2 or 2 a/ 2 b may be used for CQI transmission, ifSimultaneous-AN-and-CQI is set to TRUE by higher layers. Utilizing theregular format 1 a/ 1 b along with concurrent transmission of SRS andCQI may break the SC property of the UL transmission. If there is notenough transmit power, SRS and CQI may be dropped/power-scaledsequentially.

Alternatively, if the shortened format is not allowed, ACK or ACK/SR maybe transmitted on one antenna/PA and CQI may be transmitted on separateantenna/PA. The regular format 1 a/ 1 b may be used for ACK transmissionon one antenna/PA, and the regular format 2 or 2 a/ 2 b may be used forCQI transmission on the other PA/antenna (if Simultaneous-AN-and-CQIflag is set to TRUE by higher layers). If there is a power available onone of the PAs, SRS may be transmitted concurrently on that PA/antenna.Otherwise, SRS may be dropped. Transmitting SRS concurrently with eitherCQI or with regular format 1 a/ 1 b ACK may break the SC property of theUL transmission. A PA/antenna carrying SRS may be determined by theantenna transmission schedule for SRS.

In an aspect, user data may be transmitted along with controlinformation. ACK/CQI may be transmitted on PUCCH, and the rest of thecontrol and data may be transmitted on PUSCH on both antennas/PAs.Regular or shortened format 1 a/ 1 b may be used for ACK transmission,depending on Simultaneous-AN-and-SRS setting. SR may be transmitted withACK on PUCCH, as well as in addition to Buffer Status Report (BSR) onPUSCH. If there is not enough transmit power available, PUSCH may bedropped or power-scaled. If both ACK and CQI are present, the aboverules may be applied for PUCCH.

SRS may be configured for transmission on both antennas. IfSimultaneous-AN-and-SRS is set to FALSE by higher layers and if there isstill some transmit power available, SRS may be transmitted concurrentlywith ACK. Otherwise, SRS may be dropped. Transmitting ACK with regularformat concurrently with SRS may break the SC property of the ULtransmission. In an aspect, the regular format 1 a/ 1 b may be utilizedfor ACK transmission. If Simultaneous-AN-and-SRS is set to TRUE byhigher layers, then a shortened ACK format and SRS may be transmittedconcurrently. The shortened format 1 a/ 1 b may be used for ACK.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram conceptually illustrating exampleblocks 500 executed at a wireless device (e.g., an access terminal) inaccordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operationsillustrated by the blocks 500 may be executed, for example, at theprocessor(s) 260 and/or 270 of the access terminal 250 from FIG. 2,and/or at the circuit(s) 406, 408 and/or 410 of the wireless device 402from FIG. 4.

The operations may begin, at block 502, by determining a prioritizationof a collection of carriers allocated for transmitting wireless signals.At block 504, the access terminal may adjust transmission power for aplurality of carriers in the collection of carriers according to theprioritization. At block 506, the access terminal may transmit signalsover one or more of the carriers using one or more antennas according tothe transmission power.

In an aspect, determining the prioritization may comprise selecting oneor more priority levels for each of a plurality of carriers in thecollection of carriers. In another aspect, determining theprioritization may comprise receiving the prioritization from one ormore upstream network components. In an aspect, adjusting thetransmission power may comprise adjusting transmission power of channelswithin each of the carriers, wherein the channels may comprise PhysicalUplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and Physical Uplink Shared Channel(PUSCH).

In an aspect, the access terminal may transmit a first of the signalshaving a highest priority among the signals on a first of the carriers,and may transmit one or more of the signals with lower priority than thefirst signal on a set of the carriers without the first carrier.Further, transmission of Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) over thefirst carrier may have a higher priority than transmission of PUSCH overone or more carriers from the set.

In one configuration, the apparatus 402 for wireless communicationincludes means for determining a prioritization of a collection ofcarriers allocated for transmitting wireless signals, means foradjusting transmission power for a plurality of carriers in thecollection of carriers according to the prioritization, and means fortransmitting signals over one or more of the carriers using one or moreantennas according to the transmission power. In one aspect, theaforementioned means may be the circuits 406, 408, 410 configured toperform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. In anotheraspect, the aforementioned means may be a module or any apparatusconfigured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram conceptually illustrating exampleblocks 600 executed at a network device (e.g., an access point) inaccordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. Operationsillustrated by the blocks 600 may be executed, for example, at theprocessor(s) 220 and/or 230 of the access point 210 from FIG. 2, and/orat the circuit 412 of the network device 404 from FIG. 4.

The operations may begin, at block 602, by determining a prioritizationof one or more carriers allocated for transmitting signals in a wirelessnetwork. At block 604, the access point may transmit the prioritizationto one or more apparatuses that transmit signals over the one or morecarriers. In an aspect, the prioritization indicates at least one of theone or more carriers related to a control channel as high priority. Inanother aspect, the prioritization may be determined from a networkspecification. In yet another aspect, the prioritization may be based atleast in part on a previous prioritization.

In one configuration, the apparatus 404 for wireless communicationincludes means for determining a prioritization of one or more carriersallocated for transmitting signals in a wireless network, and means fortransmitting the prioritization to one or more apparatuses that transmitsignals over the one or more carriers. In one aspect, the aforementionedmeans may be the circuit 412 configured to perform the functions recitedby the aforementioned means. In another aspect, the aforementioned meansmay be a module or any apparatus configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronichardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performedwith a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with thedisclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a softwaremodule executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Asoftware module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Anexemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that theprocessor can read information from, and/or write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal In the alternative, theprocessor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in auser terminal

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by ageneral purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code means in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable anyperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scopeof the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited tothe examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded thewidest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosedherein.

1. A method for wireless communications, comprising: determining aprioritization of a collection of carriers allocated for transmittingwireless signals; adjusting transmission power for a plurality ofcarriers in the collection of carriers according to the prioritization;and transmitting signals over one or more of the carriers using one ormore antennas according to the transmission power.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein determining the prioritization comprises: selecting oneor more priority levels for each of the plurality of carriers in thecollection of carriers.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningthe prioritization comprises: receiving the prioritization from one ormore upstream network components.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinadjusting the transmission power comprises: adjusting transmission powerof channels within each of the carriers.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the channels comprise Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the PUCCH is accommodated for transmission over the one or morecarriers according to the prioritization before the PUSCH.
 7. The methodof claim 5, wherein an Acknowledgement/Negative Acknowledgement(ACK/NACK) feedback of the PUCCH is accommodated for transmission overthe one or more carriers before any other feedback type of the PUCCH. 8.The method of claim 5, wherein transmitting control information togetherwith data on the PUSCH over the one or more carriers has a higherpriority than transmitting pure data on the PUSCH.
 9. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising: dropping the PUSCH due to a constraintassociated with the transmission power.
 10. The method of claim 5,wherein transmission of Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Media AccessControl (MAC) signaling over the one or more carriers of the PUSCH havea higher priority than at least one of: transmission of regular data onthe PUSCH over one or more other carriers, transmission of the regulardata along with uplink control information (UCI) on the PUSCH, ortransmission of the PUCCH.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereintransmitting comprises: transmitting a first of the signals having ahighest priority among the signals on a first of the carriers; andtransmitting one or more of the signals with lower priority than thefirst signal on a set of the carriers without the first carrier.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein: transmission of Physical Uplink SharedChannel (PUSCH) over the first carrier has a higher priority thantransmission of PUSCH over one or more carriers from the set.
 13. Anapparatus for wireless communications, comprising: at least oneprocessor; and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, whereinthe at least one processor is configured to determine a prioritizationof a collection of carriers allocated for transmitting wireless signals,adjust transmission power for a plurality of carriers in the collectionof carriers according to the prioritization, and transmit signals overone or more of the carriers using one or more antennas according to thetransmission power.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at leastone processor is also configured to: select one or more priority levelsfor each of the plurality of carriers in the collection of carriers. 15.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is alsoconfigured to: receive the prioritization from one or more upstreamnetwork components.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at leastone processor is also configured to: adjust transmission power ofchannels within each of the carriers.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16,wherein the channels comprise Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).
 18. The apparatus of claim17, wherein the PUCCH is accommodated for transmission over the one ormore carriers according to the prioritization before the PUSCH.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein an Acknowledgement/NegativeAcknowledgement (ACK/NACK) feedback of the PUCCH is accommodated fortransmission over the one or more carriers before any other feedbacktype of the PUCCH.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein transmittingcontrol information together with data on the PUSCH over the one or morecarriers has a higher priority than transmitting pure data on the PUSCH.21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor isalso configured to: drop the PUSCH due to a constraint associated withthe transmission power.
 22. The apparatus of claim 17, whereintransmission of Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Media Access Control(MAC) signaling over the one or more carriers of the PUSCH have a higherpriority than at least one of: transmission of regular data on the PUSCHover one or more other carriers, transmission of the regular data alongwith uplink control information (UCI) on the PUSCH, or transmission ofthe PUCCH.
 23. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least oneprocessor is also configured to: transmit a first of the signals havinga highest priority among the signals on a first of the carriers, andtransmit one or more of the signals with lower priority than the firstsignal on a set of the carriers without the first carrier.
 24. Theapparatus of claim 23, wherein: transmission of Physical Uplink SharedChannel (PUSCH) over the first carrier has a higher priority thantransmission of PUSCH over one or more carriers from the set.
 25. Anapparatus for wireless communications, comprising: means for determininga prioritization of a collection of carriers allocated for transmittingwireless signals; means for adjusting transmission power for a pluralityof carriers in the collection of carriers according to theprioritization; and means for transmitting signals over one or more ofthe carriers using one or more antennas according to the transmissionpower.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the means for determiningthe prioritization comprises: means for selecting one or more prioritylevels for each of the plurality of carriers in the collection ofcarriers.
 27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the means fordetermining the prioritization comprises: means for receiving theprioritization from one or more upstream network components.
 28. Theapparatus of claim 25, wherein the means for adjusting the transmissionpower comprises: means for adjusting transmission power of channelswithin each of the carriers.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein thechannels comprise Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and PhysicalUplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).
 30. The apparatus of claim 29, whereinthe PUCCH is accommodated for transmission over the one or more carriersaccording to the prioritization before the PUSCH.
 31. The apparatus ofclaim 29, wherein an Acknowledgement/Negative Acknowledgement (ACK/NACK)feedback of the PUCCH is accommodated for transmission over the one ormore carriers before any other feedback type of the PUCCH.
 32. Theapparatus of claim 29, wherein transmitting control information togetherwith data on the PUSCH over the one or more carriers has a higherpriority than transmitting pure data on the PUSCH.
 33. The apparatus ofclaim 29, further comprising: means for dropping the PUSCH due to aconstraint associated with the transmission power.
 34. The apparatus ofclaim 29, wherein transmission of Radio Resource Control (RRC) and MediaAccess Control (MAC) signaling over the one or more carriers of thePUSCH have a higher priority than at least one of: transmission ofregular data on the PUSCH over one or more other carriers, transmissionof the regular data along with uplink control information (UCI) on thePUSCH, or transmission of the PUCCH.
 35. The apparatus of claim 25,wherein the means for transmitting is further configured to: transmit afirst of the signals having a highest priority among the signals on afirst of the carriers, and transmit one or more of the signals withlower priority than the first signal on a set of the carriers withoutthe first carrier.
 36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein: transmissionof Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) over the first carrier has ahigher priority than transmission of PUSCH over one or more carriersfrom the set.
 37. A computer program product, comprising acomputer-readable medium comprising code for: determining aprioritization of a collection of carriers allocated for transmittingwireless signals; adjusting transmission power for a plurality ofcarriers in the collection of carriers according to the prioritization;and transmitting signals over one or more of the carriers using one ormore antennas according to the transmission power.
 38. The computerprogram product of claim 37, wherein the computer-readable mediumfurther comprising code for: selecting one or more priority levels foreach of the plurality of carriers in the collection of carriers.
 39. Thecomputer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer-readablemedium further comprising code for: receiving the prioritization fromone or more upstream network components.
 40. The computer programproduct of claim 37, wherein the computer-readable medium furthercomprising code for: adjusting transmission power of channels withineach of the carriers.
 41. The computer program product of claim 40,wherein the channels comprise Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).
 42. The computer programproduct of claim 41, wherein the PUCCH is accommodated for transmissionover the one or more carriers according to the prioritization before thePUSCH.
 43. The computer program product of claim 41, wherein anAcknowledgement/Negative Acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) feedback of thePUCCH is accommodated for transmission over the one or more carriersbefore any other feedback type of the PUCCH.
 44. The computer programproduct of claim 41, wherein transmitting control information togetherwith data on the PUSCH over the one or more carriers has a higherpriority than transmitting pure data on the PUSCH.
 45. The computerprogram product of claim 41, wherein the computer-readable mediumfurther comprising code for: dropping the PUSCH due to a constraintassociated with the transmission power.
 46. The computer program productof claim 41, wherein transmission of Radio Resource Control (RRC) andMedia Access Control (MAC) signaling over the one or more carriers ofthe PUSCH have a higher priority than at least one of: transmission ofregular data on the PUSCH over one or more other carriers, transmissionof the regular data along with uplink control information (UCI) on thePUSCH, or transmission of the PUCCH.
 47. The computer program product ofclaim 37, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprising codefor: transmitting a first of the signals having a highest priority amongthe signals on a first of the carriers; and transmitting one or more ofthe signals with lower priority than the first signal on a set of thecarriers without the first carrier.
 48. The computer program product ofclaim 47, wherein: transmission of Physical Uplink Shared Channel(PUSCH) over the first carrier has a higher priority than transmissionof PUSCH over one or more carriers from the set.
 49. A method forwireless communications, comprising: determining a prioritization of oneor more carriers allocated for transmitting signals in a wirelessnetwork; and transmitting the prioritization to one or more apparatusesthat transmit signals over the one or more carriers.
 50. The method ofclaim 49, wherein the prioritization is determined from a networkspecification.
 51. The method of claim 49, wherein the prioritization isbased at least in part on a previous prioritization.
 52. The method ofclaim 49, wherein the prioritization indicates at least one of the oneor more carriers related to a control channel as high priority.
 53. Anapparatus for wireless communications, comprising: at least oneprocessor; and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, whereinthe at least one processor is configured to determine a prioritizationof one or more carriers allocated for transmitting signals in a wirelessnetwork, and transmit the prioritization to one or more apparatuses thattransmit signals over the one or more carriers.
 54. The apparatus ofclaim 53, wherein the prioritization is determined from a networkspecification.
 55. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the prioritizationis based at least in part on a previous prioritization.
 56. Theapparatus of claim 53, wherein the prioritization indicates at least oneof the one or more carriers related to a control channel as highpriority.
 57. An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising:means for determining a prioritization of one or more carriers allocatedfor transmitting signals in a wireless network; and means fortransmitting the prioritization to one or more apparatuses that transmitsignals over the one or more carriers.
 58. The apparatus of claim 57,wherein the prioritization is determined from a network specification.59. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the prioritization is based atleast in part on a previous prioritization.
 60. The apparatus of claim57, wherein the prioritization indicates at least one of the one or morecarriers related to a control channel as high priority.
 61. A computerprogram product, comprising a computer-readable medium comprising codefor: determining a prioritization of one or more carriers allocated fortransmitting signals in a wireless network; and transmitting theprioritization to one or more apparatuses that transmit signals over theone or more carriers.
 62. The computer program product of claim 61,wherein the prioritization is determined from a network specification.63. The computer program product of claim 61, wherein the prioritizationis based at least in part on a previous prioritization.
 64. The computerprogram product of claim 61, wherein the prioritization indicates atleast one of the one or more carriers related to a control channel ashigh priority.